Project Summary
Improving Alignment Between Texas High Schools and Colleges
The Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative is a three-year project designed to improve alignment between secondary and postsecondary education in Texas. The project is sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and will be conducted in three phases:
Phase I:
In the initial stages of this project, vertical teams of instructors and education professional developed College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) in four subject areas (English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science). These standards identify what students must know and be able to do to succeed in entry-level courses offered at Texas institutions of higher education. The CCRS underwent a six-week period of public comment from October through December 2007. The vertical teams then reconvened to consider the comments and developed a final version of the CCRS, which was adopted in January 2008 by the Commissioner of Higher Education and to the Commissioner of Education.
Phase II:
The purpose of the second phase was to validate the College and Career Readiness Standards and to create Current Practice Course Profiles that exemplify the content and rigor of entry-level college courses offered at Texas institutions of higher education. First, an alignment analysis was conducted to compare the CCRS to existing instructional priorities and practices in over 900 entry-level college courses in Texas. The results validated that the CCRS reflected instructor expectations for college readiness in a cross-section of representative entry-level courses from all levels of the state’s postsecondary system. In addition, the results of the alignment provided the foundation for 18 Current Practice Course Profiles. These profiles are composite courses that represent what is currently being taught in entry-level college courses, and serve as both a point of reference for college faculty and a target for high school instructors. The Current Practice Course Profiles will eventually be disseminated statewide.
Phase III:
In the final phase, assignments will be developed that will help high school students prepare better for college. EPIC will work with vertical design teams and pilot instructors to create College Readiness Assignments, scoring guides, and accompanying instructional strategies. These assignments may be used by high schools and in developmental education courses to help students enhance their college and career readiness, and also to determine the degree to which high school seniors and incoming college students are meeting College and Career Readiness Standards
This project will enable students, parents, faculty, and administrators in public high schools and higher education institutions in Texas to have a clearer understanding of what it takes to be ready to succeed in Texas postsecondary institutions and will help high school educators, students, and parents make better decisions about the educational activities that will lead to college and career readiness.